Some of the biggest names believed to seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination are backing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ single-payer legislation.
Sanders will introduce Wednesday the Medicare For All Act of 2017, which would implement a universal health-care system with no co-payments.
“Right now, if we want to move away from a dysfunctional, wasteful, bureaucratic system into a rational health-care system that guarantees coverage to everyone in a cost-effective way, the only way to do it is Medicare for All,” the Vermont senator told The Washington Post.
Sixteen Democratic senators are co-sponsoring the legislation including: California Sen. Kamala Harris, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
The widespread support from Democratic senators is a rapid shift for the party. Polling shows that Democratic voters support single-payer, but the 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton said single-payer health care will “never, ever” happen.
Sanders’ legislation is estimated to cost around $1.4 trillion and this would be offset by higher taxes.